After a stressful day as a computer programmer, Jim pulled into his driveway. The children’s toys were scattered on walkway to house. He immediately began noticing slight tension in his muscles and apprehension in his stomach. Entering his house, his wife ignored him while she talked with her sister on telephone. His heart started beating a little faster. Looking around, he noticed disarray; nothing was picked up, house was a mess. Irritation and frustration started to settle in. Finally, as his feelings grew, he exploded and began yelling at his wife and children. Stress may trigger anger:

The thing I remember most about incident took place after we returned from doctor. Amanda stood in our den, held up her bandaged fingers and, with absolute innocence and candor, declared, “Now I finally have something important to talk about!”

What a commentary on people – young and old. We all want to feel important and to have something important to tell others. As children, we couldn’t wait to tell others how we got our bruise, our cut or our broken bone. As adults we’re sometimes same with illnesses and surgeries. They make us feel special. They become badges of honor. We act somewhat like a friend I had who broke his neck and, though he healed, subsequently referenced everything to before or after his accident. We, too, are prone to “hang on to” such personally important events. We need to feel important.

The various ways in which this need is met are rather significant. In fact, knowing how a person gets that feeling of importance tells us a great deal about person. I heard about a mother who, at a Little League ballpark, told her son, “I do everything else for YOU. You’re going to play baseball for ME.” In this case, her sense of importance was wrapped up in her child. It makes you wonder how she will fill void when child grows up.